Thames Pulse

MEC UK / Thames21

Thames21 and agency MEC UK used AI and a new ad format to communicate the health of London's River Thames in its ‘Thames Pulse’ campaign.

Objectives

To boost awareness of the Thames' health and promote the work of and encourage support for waterways charity Thames21.

Strategy and execution

Thames21 decided to use its own other sources’ data on the health of the Thames and communicate it in a visually striking and easy to understand manner.

Using Environment Agency data, Thames21 and MEC built an algorithm that translated the information into three simple descriptors of the river's health — ‘improving’, 'stable' and 'declining'.

These were presented on an installation on the facade of Sea Containers building using lighting patterns designed by artist Jason Bruges'Thames Pulse'.

Supporting activity included a river health app and dynamic creative ads at sites around the Thames and Twitter feed.

Results

The long-term campaign had a big impact within a fortnight. It led to eight in ten Londoners agreeing that Thames Pulse had brought attention to a worthwhile cause, while one in three Londoners said they had heard of Thames Pulse as a result of the campaign.

The Thames21 website experienced a 44% increase in page views and 109% increase in unique users to the Thames21 website and Twitter.